Silver-polish.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. ALBER'I '1. FLETCHER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SILVER-POLISH.

1,113,322. No Drawing.

,ToaZZ whom it may concern Be. it known that I, ALBERT T. FLETCHER, acitizen of the United. States, and a resident of Boston, in the countyof Suifolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Silver-Polish, of which the following is'aspecification.

This invention has for its object to produce a substance or compoundwhich may be used for cleansing and polishing glassware and silverware,and the like, on which it is desirable to secure a fine luster'orpolish.

I employ, as the base of my compound, a cereal soap powder formed bysubjecting finely 'comminutedvegetable material such as corn meal,starch or other protein-containing substance to the action of a highly;

concentrated solution of caustic soda or caustic potash, and removingthe free alkali by exposing the dry material to the atmosphere until thefree alkali forms a carbonate. Such soap powder .is known upon themarket by the trade name of Zap It is unnecessary to herein describe indetail the process of producing the soap powder as the same is fullydescribed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 1.027,?44, toRobert Macpherson and Vvilliam E. Heys, dated May 28, 1912. I have foundthat, where a cereal soap powder of this general nature is emulsified, Iam able, by mixing a suitable abrasive material therewith, to secure ahomogeneous jelly-like solid in which the particles of abrasive materialare uni formly suspended andoit of which they will not separate,notwithstanding that an excess of water may be employed in forming theemulsion.

As an example of a method of producing the material, I proceed asfollows: To approximately 1 pound of the dry soap-powder, known as Zap,I add 4 quarts of boiling water, and heat the mixture for approximately3 minutes to a temperature slightly below 212 F., the mass beingcontinuously agitated. During the heating and mixing, the massemulsifies, and, on being permitted to cool, gelatinizes or forms ajelly-like solid. During the boiling, I add and thoroughly mix inapproximately 4 pounds of a suitable abrasive material, such, forinstance, as oxid of silica in the form known as infusorial earth, thisbeing added after the soap powder has'been dissolved and before thegelatinization takes place.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 13,1914.

Application filed January 5, 1914. Serial No. 810,349.

The mixture is then permitted to cool and set, and the abrasive materialis completely held in suspension uniformly throughout the entirejelly-like mass without any tendency to separate. The solidity of themass of course will vary in the proportion in which the soap-powder isadded.

In its dry form, the soappowder contains fine granules of the vegetablemattersuch as meal or flour, but during the soaking and boiling processthe particles are so thoroughly softened that there is no danger oftheir scratching or injuring the surface to which the substance isapplied.

It is evident that, instead of boiling the solution in the emulsifyingprocess, the water may be added to the powder at atmospherictemperature. In such case, however, the proportion of the soap powder isincreased and the'time required for the emulsifying effect is likewiseincreased. lVhere cold water is used, the mixture should be stirred fromtime to time, and when it shows a tendency to set, the abrasive materialshould be added and thoroughly stirred in. If desired, substances may beadded to the mixture to give it a pleasant odor or to color it. Forinstance, I may add to the mixture above stated about-. ounce, byweight, of oil of Wintergreen, and suflicient analinecoloring matter toimpart the desired color to the mixture. I may also add a smallproportion of sodium thiosulfate for dissolving the discolorations onmetal produced by certain oxids and chlorids.

Silver polish, produced .as herein described, may be used without injuryto the skin, since the soap powder which isinitially used has no freealkali and consequently lized for this purpose, the free alkali thereincontained roughens and injures the skin of the user. Another advantagewhich is secured by the use of a soap-powder containing finelycomminuted vegetable matter such as meal treated with concentrated lyeand carbonated as described in the Letters Patent herein previouslyreferred to, is that the vegetable matter or soda compound is glutinous,and, as a result, a jelly-like substance is produced upon emulsificationby using a relatively small quantity of the soap powder. The substanceherein described produces a brilliant polish upon glass and metals andleaves the surface thereof free from the trace of oil or dirt.

I claim 1. The herein described polishing mate rial which consists of ahomogeneous gelatinized alkali-free cereal soap containing an abrasivein suspension.

2. The herein described polishing material consisting of a gelatinoushomogeneous mass, formed by emulsifying the soap powder (produced bysubjecting a comminuted protein-containing substance to the action of ahighly concentrated alkali and carbonating the free alkali) with water,and containing a finely divided abrasive held in suspension. uniformlythroughout the mass.

3. The herein described polishing compound consisting of emulsified andgelatinized cereal soap powder and an abrasive material in a homogeneousmixture 4. The herein described process of mak;

ing a polishing compound, which consists in emulsifying with water acereal soap powder produced by subjecting a comminutedprotein-containing substance to the action of a highly concentratedalkali, mixing a comminuted abrasive material with the emulsion, andcausing the mixture to gelatinize with the'particles of abrasivematerial held in suspension.

5. The herein described process of making a polishing compound, whichconsists in emulsifying a cereal soap with water, mixing a comminutedabrasive material with the emulsion, and gelatinizing the mixture withthe abrasive material in suspension.

In testimony whereof I hate affixed my signature, in presence of twowitnesses.

ALBERT T. FLETCHER;

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, J. M. MURPHY.

